Coach Stephen Edwards says Caleb Plant “ought to really feel insulted” that Trevor McCumby waited 14 years to lastly step as much as face his first big-name opponent towards him on Saturday night time of their battle for the WBA interim tremendous middleweight title on the T-Cellular Area in Las Vegas.
(Photograph credit score: Rey Del Rio/Premier Boxing Champions)
Edwards, who trains the previous IBF 168-lb champion Plant (22-2, 13 KOs), feels that 31-year-old McCumby (28-0, 21 KOs) ought to have stepped up way back to face high quality fighters as an alternative of ready this lengthy.
It’s higher for Plant that he’s preventing an inexperienced fighter like McCumby as a result of if the promoters had chosen a greater fighter than him, like Christian Mbilli or Diego Pacheco, his probabilities of profitable the WBA interim title can be decrease.
Plant, 32, needs a rematch with Canelo Alvarez, and preventing McCumby is the best man to assist him get that second battle towards the Mexican star.
Plant has a 1-2 document in his final three fights, along with his solely win coming towards 38-year-old Anthony Dirrell. Who is aware of what his document would appear like if he didn’t battle Dirrell?
“He doesn’t have as many knockouts as Trevor, however he’s fought higher competitors, and he stepped up quite a bit earlier in his profession,” stated coach Stephen Edwards to Battle Hub TV, speaking about Caleb Plant having fought higher competitors than Trevor McCumby forward of their battle on Saturday.
Edwards is correct that Plant has fought higher competitors than McCumby, however he fails to say that he’s 0-2 towards these fighters. Within the two fights the place Plant stepped it up towards higher competitors, he was knocked out by Canelo within the eleventh spherical in 2021 and crushed by David Benavidez by a 12-round unanimous determination in 2023.
It solely counts in a fighter’s favor for having fought higher opposition in the event that they’re profitable these fights. You possibly can’t rely Dirrell as being high quality competitors as a result of his superior age. He was 38 when Plant fought him and nowhere close to the extent, he was preventing at when he was in his prime in 2014.
“Caleb ought to really feel insulted that the man [McCumby] waited 14 years to step up and he picked him,” stated Edwards.
